Aerial vehicles (AVs) are manned or unmanned aircraft that can be remotely piloted or self-piloted by an onboard computer system and can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment, or other payloads. They have been used in a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering role for many years. More recently, AVs have been developed for the purpose of surveillance and target tracking.
Autonomous surveillance and target tracking performed by AVs in either military or civilian environments is becoming an important aspect of intelligence-gathering. Typically, when a target is being tracked from aerial vehicles (e.g. an AV), human operators must closely monitor imagery streamed from the aircraft to assess target behavior and ensure that the target continues to be in view.